{"id":2360,"date":"2019-04-25T13:45:39","date_gmt":"2019-04-25T12:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madf.im\/?page_id=2360"},"modified":"2019-04-25T13:46:51","modified_gmt":"2019-04-25T12:46:51","slug":"a-murder-is-announced","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/madf.im\/?page_id=2360","title":{"rendered":"Hog the Limelight A Murder is Announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hog the Limelight<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>A\u00a0Murder is Announced<\/strong><\/em>
\nby Agatha Christie<\/strong><\/p>\n

An evening of classic Agatha Christie with A Murder is Announced<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

On a glorious sunny evening in Douglas, the third night of the Easter Festival of Plays took a dark turn with crime thriller\u00a0A Murder is Announced<\/em>\u00a0presented by local group Hog the Limelight Productions. It was a popular performance, drawing in a large audience, and was once again overseen by experienced adjudicator Jill Colby.
\nA Murder is Announced<\/em>\u00a0is a tense affair involving Agatha Christie\u2019s famous amateur sleuth Miss\u00a0Marple\u00a0adapted for the stage by Leslie\u00a0Darbon. The story centres on the quaint village of Chipping\u00a0Cleghorn\u00a0and is set in the drawing-room of Victorian house \u2018Little Paddocks\u2019. Owner Miss Letitia\u00a0Blacklock, her family and friends are gathered for tea when an announcement is found in the local\u00a0Gazette<\/em>\u00a0stating a murder will take place that evening at 6.30pm. Full of the usual \u2018red herrings\u2019 and assortment of oddball characters \u2013 where no one is as they seem \u2013 the play sees multiple killings and plot twists over the two Acts leading to the denouement of Miss\u00a0Marple\u00a0unmasking the murderer just in time.
\nAs a first for this Festival, the curtains opened to a full \u2018box\u2019 set with wing-back armchairs, decorated flats and a roaring fire giving a vivid picture of rural England in the 1950s. The action moved along at a good pace and each character was clearly identifiable. Adjudicator Jill Colby felt at times greater pace was required given the large cast and script but that the story came across with conviction.
\nOf the many actors involved in this production, several deserve special mention. Lulu\u00a0Gillow\u00a0playing\u00a0Miss\u00a0Marple<\/em>\u00a0brought to life the busy-body detective whose inquisitive nature helps her to see through the web of lies and unravel the mystery. She gave a thoughtful performance and lived up a daunting prospect for an actor, given the affection in which the character is held. Sharon Walker in the role of\u00a0Miss\u00a0Blacklock<\/em>\u00a0portrayed a likeable and outwardly-composed figure whose house is beset with intrigue. Billy Newton asInspector Craddock<\/em>\u00a0fought to find the truth amidst the lies and was an authoritative presence on stage as he interrogated each character in turn.
\nGood use was made by the director of changes in lighting, with tableaux accentuating cliff-hanging scene ends in both Acts, and a selection of musical interludes fitting the period exactly. These points were picked out by our adjudicator.
\nOverall, Hog the Limelight presented an entertaining show and Jill Colby felt they demonstrated an understanding of the style through the set, music and lighting. It was a challenging production to put on, given the large cast and complex narrative, but the company in general did very well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hog the Limelight A\u00a0Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie An evening of classic Agatha Christie with A Murder is Announced On a glorious sunny evening in Douglas, the third night of the Easter Festival of Plays took a dark turn with crime thriller\u00a0A Murder is Announced\u00a0presented by local group Hog the Limelight Productions. It was … Continue reading Hog the Limelight A Murder is Announced<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2361,"parent":2326,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2360","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2360"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2366,"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2360\/revisions\/2366"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madf.im\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}